Jeff Meyer's Pro Touring 1966 Citron ID19

Written
by
Rob Kinnan
on February 28, 2007 Jeff Meyer, of Windsor, California, has a thing for European cars, but he also likes his hot rods. Wanting to combine the two, he had Kevin Bradley at Kreations Auto Body (www.kreationsautobody.com) in Rio Dell, California, turn his '66 Citron ID19 into a

1/4The Citron was finished just in time for the '06 SEMA show, and we shot it the following Saturday, so the two miles or so that Kevin drove it for our photo shoot was the most road time the car had seen. It drove straight and performed just fine.

When you think of France, you think of romance, great food, fine wine, snotty waiters, and an inept military. Certainly, "car manufacturer" doesn't come to mind. But there is a segment of the population here in America, albeit very small, that is rabid about the French-built Citron. These quirky cars combine swoopy, obscure French styling with equally quirky hydraulic controls for nearly everything, including the suspension. You definitely don't see them every day, and it's often easier to fabricate parts for them than it is to find factory replacements. Seems like the perfect Dare To Be Different project, huh?

Jeff Meyer, of Windsor, California, has a thing for European cars, but he also likes his hot rods. Wanting to combine the two, he had Kevin Bradley at Kreations Auto Body (www.kreationsautobody.com) in Rio Dell, California, turn his '66 Citron ID19 into a Pro Touring car. The Citron was unique because it had all those hydraulic pumps and rams everywhere, but also because it was front-wheel drive with a Maserati four-cylinder for power. Swapping in an American V-8 was the plan, but that meant considerable fabrication. Kevin designed a frame to fit and then had Art Morrison build it based around his G-Max chassis. Opposite from most cars, this one has a narrower track width in the back than it does in the front. The suspension is Morrison's Mustang II-based independent in the front (with coilovers) and a triangulated four-link in the rear. To get the car nice and low, the body was channeled 4 inches over the frame.

Kreations got a warmed-over (410hp) LS1 from Turnkey Engine Supply (Oceanside, California) and stuck it in the car, setting it back far enough to fit under the sloping hood while leaving room for a laid-down radiator. With a 4L60E automatic bolted behind the LS1, the surrounding panels were built, giving the car a transmission tunnel where one had never existed.

The Citron's body structure was pretty flimsy, with a bolt-on fiberglass roof attached to a thin metal structure that also located the front and rear glass. To keep the stock parts but stiffen it all up, Kreations built a rollcage-like structure with 151/48-inch bars, then welded it into the A, B, and C pillars and molded everything together to make it nearly invisible inside the car. It also provided a mount for the three-point seatbelts. Kreations fabricated the steel dash and center console to Meyer's specs and stuck the stock steering wheel on the Flaming River column. "That was a three-day project making the monotube steering wheel work with a traditional column," Kevin said.

On the outside, much of the body is stock. Kreations smoothed the front lower panel and put a big hole in it to feed air to the radiator and engine. The stock bumpers were bolt-together, three-piece units, so Kreations welded them together and removed the bumperettes then had Advanced Plating in Nashville rechrome them. The rear license-plate panel required some work, and while there, Kreations added a second set of taillights to complement the C-pillar-mounted stock lights, which still work. The color is Teal Tease from DuPont's Hot Hues line, the roof is a tri-stage white with pearl thrown in, and suede paint sets off the interior and underhood panels. The final touch is Billet Specialties Stiletto wheels, 18x9s in the rear and 18x8s in the front, with 245/45-18s on all four corners.